Not Even Larry the Cable Guy...

Family,

There is this comic named, Larry the Cable Guy, and his humor is, well its grade school to put it nicely. He tells jokes that are far from intellectual or mentally challenging, and most of his jokes could have been heard on the playground, during recess at the local grade school. And yet, he is widely popular and incredibly successful. He makes people laugh, because he tells stupid jokes about himself and his family that makes all who listen, laugh. I know i did.

And yet, not even Larry the Cable Guy could have created a joke as funny as chapter 18 of Genesis. This chapter is full of irony, sarcasm, wheeling and dealing, and a lot of hospitality. The author introduces us to three strangers who come upon Abraham, and Abe instantly begins to care for their needs. Abe heard God's promise in the last chapter, about Isaac, and perhaps Abe is thinking these three strangers are there to make sure it happens. Abe senses something Divine about these guys, and so he goes out of his way and makes Sarah go out of her way to give these guys the best welcome they could have.

This isn't funny as much as it is standard for people of that part of the world. Welcoming strangers, waiting on them hand and foot, is normal, expected. It was also a tradition, found in other Eastern narratives that strangers would visit, and the birth of a child would soon follow. Perhaps Abe felt these strangers were there to make something Divine happen. But they didn't. Not yet.

Instead they made Sarah laugh. They told Abe, once again, that he and Sarah would have a child, and they were to name that child: Isaac. This is laughable. Abe is one hundred years old, and Sarah hints that he is too old for this to happen. Not only that, but she says, sarcastically, what, "Now? Now? Now God is going to give me the pleasure of raising a child? Now? When Abe and I can barely walk? That's funny stuff right there, i dont care who you are!" She must have been thinking.

The LORD calls her out, and Sarah tries to lie her way out of this sticky situation. But who can blame her for being sarcastic, doubtful? She was in her nineties or close to it. Abe was one hundred, well past any child bearing, raising age that was normal, and now, now when they could barely get along, now God was going to give them that child. Given the situation, perhaps i would have laughed too. Because thinking about the aburdity of this promise, at that time, yeah it is laughable.

No matter how ironic, impossible, or improbable this is, God simply reminds Abe, and all of us, that nothing is impossible with God. NOTHING! God can do all things! God can move mountains. Create matter from the abyss. Breathe life into clay. And even give a hundred year old patriarch an heir. But by the grace of God indeed. So God makes all these powerful points, helps Sarah see the truth, surely Sarah will be having that son soon and very soon at that, right?

No. God said in about a year, so they still have to wait. Not only that, God offers no further explanation. They are going to have to wait, even longer, for the blessed heir. What does this have to teach us? Everything about how God works. And everything about how difficult it is to remain faithful as God's plan unfolds, some times quickly, in the blink of an eye and other times through the journey of a hundred years. In reality, God's timing means everything, even if it doesn't mesh with our agendas and plans. God's Will be done. Not ours.

It is funny, when you think about the impossible promise God gives. It is. This elderly couple was finally going to have a child. Sarah past menopause. Abraham more than likely is no longer able to have children either. And yet, now the promise will come true. Now the heir comes to reality. Now all those shattered dreams become flesh and bone. Now. When neither can truly enjoy the pleasure of chasing little Isaac around. Now. When neither have the strength and energy to see Isaac fulfill his full potential. And now. When they are beginning to prepare themselves to go home and be with God. Now their dreams come true. This is irony at its finest.

But the beautiful thing about irony and God; it fits. Only when things seem totally impossible can we trust that it was God's hand all along. It is these moments of hilarious miracles that remind us who the author of miracles is: God. Not us. Not science. And not any doctor. God and God alone. And God always makes it on time: His time.

We just have to be patient, who knows what God has in store for us? Whatever it is, i know it is not beyond His ability to fulfill His wish. I need only be available to receive the promise, the gift, and the miracle, even if i am way over the hill. Abe received it, and Isaac made him proud. So what are we waiting to receive? Hopefully whatever God has in mind. For it won't work any other way. Amen.

Shalom,
jerry